Vet Candy sees its future In Pet Candy
Vet Candy's founder and CEO, Dr. Jill López, isn't shy about her intention to create more media assets in the pet-care arena, and now she is adding a pet parent lifestyle brand to the portfolio. "Strategically, for our business, Pet Candy moves us into a new client base that helps us reach a wider audience," López said. "The addition of Pet Candy allows us to expand into the pet owner space."
According to the 2019-2020 APPA National Pet Owners Survey, 67% of US households own a pet, which equates to 84.9 million homes, with $95.7 billion spent in 2019. Pet Candy is focused on younger pet owners, those between 22 and 39 years old. According to the APPA, the 37 million millennials with pets constitute 27% of all pet owners. They are more likely to have acquired their pet recently, which means that they also have a higher propensity to purchase pet products.
"Pet Candy started as an idea to provide a marketing funnel for Vet Candy clients. And in a fairly short time, we were able to create a lifestyle brand for young pet owners unlike any other. Having both platforms-one for the veterinary audience and one for the pet owners-makes perfect sense," López says.
Vet Candy will continue to focus on the veterinary profession, which includes podcasts, video shows, and educational content, while Pet Candy will offer the same for pet owners. According to HubSpot, 72% of consumers would rather learn about a product by way of video, so López has set her sights on branded content for Pet Candy, with a strong focus on digital video programming using their content studio. Pet Candy launch is slated for early January.
Pet Candy video content features a pet news show, hosted by Colorado State veterinary student Tatiana Rogers, a weekly DIY project hosted by lifestyle guru Renee Machel, and expert pet care tips from Dr. Philippa Pavia, a New York City-based veterinary surgeon.
Pet Candy will also feature an exciting podcast hosted by America's Sexiest Veterinarian, Dr. Hunter Finn, who brings in a fan base of 1.3 million TikTok followers.
The new lineup is designed to appeal to the company's target audience of millennial pet parents with an interest in healthy living-and, of course, to entice brands to develop branded content with Pet Candy. Pet Candy is also in a prime position, with its focus on expert pet care recommendations and shopping, to develop the "lower funnel" placements that directly affect pet product purchases.
"Our goal is to make pet care advice more relatable," López says, "with trustworthy and authentic content that can help the consumer make smart choices for their pet care purchases."
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